Tracey Shirey

As Head of Lower School, Tracey Shirey is responsible for orchestrating the school experience of ESD students from age three to fourth grade. This includes academics, enrichment and special programs, Kids on Campus, and community life. She serves on the Executive Committee and collaborates closely with the Middle and Upper School Division Heads to ensure continuity of the ESD experience.

For the eight years prior to Tracey becoming an Eagle, she and Amy Cuccia co-founded Thinking Matters, a teacher coaching and curriculum development firm committed to helping teachers reach their full potential in the classroom for the benefit of each child. Her clients included ESD, Hockaday, St. John's Episcopal School, and Ft. Worth Country Day. Tracey spent the first 15 years of her career as an elementary classroom teacher. In addition to her classroom responsibilities, she served at Hockaday as the PK-4 Language Arts Coordinator, co-founder and co-director of the Hockaday Writing Institute, Ten-year ISAS Evaluation Chair, and the Curriculum and Scheduling Coordinator. At Highland Park, she was the fourth-grade team leader, technology chairperson, a member of the systems alignment and math mapping team, and two-year nominee for Teacher of the Year. Tracey holds a Bachelor of Science in Applied Learning and Development from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Gifted and Talented Education from SMU.